Monthly Archives: August 2013

An 18-year-old man led police on a high-speed chase down
Fletcher Bay Road early Tuesday morning. The pursuit ended when his
car plunged down a ravine at the intersection with Lynwood Center
Road. The man was arrested for drunken driving and attempting to
elude police.

Also this week, police arrested a 44-year-old woman for driving
a van with stolen plates and a 24-year-old woman for slapping
her boyfriend outside the police station.

“The Dream” was published by Harper Collins in 2003 coincide
40th anniversary of the March on Washington. Hansen became a
popular guest speaker after the book’s release, giving numerous
talks on King and the speech over the last decade. As the
50-year anniversary of the march approaches, he is once again
sharing his insights.

In a
USA Today story published earlier this month, Hansen noted the
“Dream” speech slid toward obscurity in the years after it was
delivered. The speech returned to prominence only after King’s
death in 1968, and became – “one of those things we look to when we
want to know what America means,” Hansen told the paper. Continue reading →

As promised, new City Manager Doug Schulze has made public
outreach a priority.

City Hall has taken gradual steps to up its web presence over
the last year, including the launch of a city manager Twitter account this
week. It’s also experimenting with new online tools for
residents.

Here are some outreach improvements the city has made recently,
in no particular order:

Now developers are retooling designs for the second phase,
planned for five acres between Wyatt Way and Shepard Drive, just
west of the Pavilion complex (currently the site of John Adams
Lane).

The new preliminary site plan (a rough rendering is shown above)
shifts the focus from single-family homes to a mix of apartments,
condominiums and townhouses. Island architect Jim Cutler has
sketched plans for 87 homes clustered into two distinct
neighborhoods, each centered around a common area.

Most of the resident parking will be located underground to
allow for about three acres of open space above. A community center
building is planned for the center of the courtyard to the
south.

According to developers, the new buildings will still be built
to meet the One
Planet Living standards achieved in the first phase of Grow.
This includes space for solar panels on the rooftops.

Developers plan to submit a revised site plan to the city for
review in September.

A Bainbridge man called police after two suspicious men followed
him while he walked to the ferry on the morning of Aug. 15. One of
the men was carrying a baseball bat. Police located one of the
suspects who explained that people had been “creeping” around his
house and he and a friend were checking the neighborhood.

Also this week, a California man was airlifted after flipping
his car off Highway 305, and an employee of a Hildebrand Lane
business used a steak knife to make a point.

The Japanese-American berry grower passed
away last year at age 90, but his legacy lives on through the
generation of farmers he mentored in his Day Road fields.

The city declared Aug. 19 “Akio Suyematsu Day” following his
passing. Islanders will mark the occasion Monday with a celebration
at Suyematsu and Bentryn Family Farms on Day Road East (the
driveway by the farm stand).

The event will include a walking tour, live music, locally-grown
food and refreshments, and a memorial display. The celebration
is scheduled for 6-9 p.m.

Long awaited repairs on crumbling
Rockaway Beach Road
will begin next week, accompanied by a road closure.

A traffic detour will be in effect for the duration of the
stabilization project, according to a Wednesday bulletin from the
city. The city expects the road to be closed near Creosote
Lane from about Aug. 21 through the end of November.

The island concert marks a homecoming for Bischoff, who first
took to the stage in Bainbridge High School and BPA musicals. Since
then he’s released an
acclaimed album of orchestral music and toured
internationally.

Requirements for the public works position include at least
eight years of experience in public works, a bachelor’s degree in
engineering (master’s preferred), and a professional engineer’s
license. The salary will vary depending on the applicant’s
qualifications. Former Public Works Director Lance Newkirk earned
$131,000 a year.

A 21-year-old Bainbridge rider was reportedly giving the finger
to the driver of the car ahead of him July 30 when his motorcycle
crashed on Blakely Avenue. The rider claimed the car slowed
sharply, causing him to clip its bumper and lose control. Police
suspected the rider’s alternative use of his braking hand may have
contributed to the wreck.

Also this week, vandals destroyed a sign at the Japanese
American Exclusion Memorial, and a deer-shaped archery target lost
its head.

There are still a number of Bethany
Lutheran members who attended the old church (Bethany relocated to
Finch Road in 1961). Some were baptized there, confirmed there, and
even married there. Today the church is a private residence.

Shirley Jenkins (formerly Ostrand) recalls when her extended
family filled several pews at the Pleasant Beach church. In the
early days the Ostrands drove a horse cart south from their
Manzanita homestead to attend services.

Though the exterior of the building remains largely unaltered
(see the photos above), the interior has been remodeled by a
succession of owners. Jenkins offered to share a few pictures of
how the church house looked inside when it was still a church: